The modification of vehicles to make them suitable for being lived in is known. For example caravans that are towed by powered vehicles such as a family car are well known. A caravan comprises a passive vehicle mounted on wheels that has an interior that has been adapted to be lived in. For example it might typically contain a kitchen and living area and optionally also a bathroom and toilet facility.
The caravan is towed by a car, typically the family car, to where it is required and then it is detached and set up as a place to live in. The presence of caravans in caravan parks near the seas is a ubiquitous feature of Australian society. It offers flexibility in the sense that the caravan can be towed to wherever it is required and it is not fixed to a single destination.
Another example of a recreational vehicle is a motor home. A motor home is a vehicle with an active drive that provides its own motive power on a road. A motor home comprises a front seat region with a driver's seat and driver's controls and an adjacent passenger's seat. It further includes a rear living region behind the driver's seat that has been formed into a living space having amenities enabling it to be lived in. For example it might contain a bed, cupboards, a kitchen area, a storage area for clothes and the like, and a washing area often with a toilet and a basin.
Motor homes are often preferred by couples because they are more compact than caravans and the living area is contained within the primary vehicle. With the change in lifestyles that is occurring and with baby boomers starting to retire the uptake and usage of motor homes has increased markedly and this increase is predicted to continue.
A motor home is made by taking a light commercial van of a type that is commercially available and is purchased off a show room floor and then fitting out the rear of the vehicle to create the living space. For example a light commercial Mercedes™ vehicle can conveniently be used, eg the Mercedes Benz™ Sprinter™ 313 CDI long wheel base van. The interior space of these vehicles is limited. Road regulations typically specify that the maximum width of a vehicle travelling on the roads is 2.5 m.
It will readily be appreciated that the interior space of these vehicles is limited. A constant challenge in designing motor homes is to utilize the limited space that is available in the best possible way thereby to provide a comfortable and functional living environment. While some development and improvement has taken place in this area over the years there is a continuing need to come up with further improvements to further improve utilization of the very limited space. This is particularly so as more and more affluent and discerning customers start using motor homes. A particularly limited dimension in a motor home is the lateral width of the vehicle.
Accordingly it would clearly be advantageous if the motor home could be adapted to be able to create a wider living area when the motor home was parked and transformed into their recreational or camping mode in a way that was trouble free, reliable and did not impose a requirement for additional drive systems which in turn used up more of the precious space within the vehicle body.